Public holidays in the Philippines

This is a list of public holidays in the Philippines.

The final two weeks of 2008 had the largest number of holidays based on Presidential Proclamation 1463 with offices closed from December 25, 2008 until January 4, 2009.

To create three-day weekends, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo moved those holidays that fell on a Wednesday or Thursday to that week's Friday; or to that week's Monday if these were on a Tuesday. When she introduced the policy in 2001, she coined the term holiday economics and argued that the policy was less disruptive of business and production schedules, encouraged domestic tourism, and gave employees longer weekends. In 2004 she issued a proclamation making Christmas Eve as special non-working holiday and December 27, the Monday after Christmas as special non-working holiday.

On July 25, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays" (RA 9492), designating 11 Regular Holidays and three Nationwide Special Holidays. Specific dates or days for celebration are designated. The law provides that holidays falling on a Wednesday will be observed on the Monday of the week and that holidays falling on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. Three holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Eid ul-Fitr) are designated as having movable dates, and the law provides that for movable holidays the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a non-working day. Though it was allowed by RA 9492, Labor Day was never moved to another date by President Arroyo at the request of labor groups.

While Arroyo's "holiday economics" has been praised for boosting domestic tourism and for encouraging more quality time among members of Filipino families, businessmen complained over lost productivity and the hassle of preparing mandatory holiday and overtime salaries in a short period of time. Others deplored it as presidential tinkering with history via executive fiat.

The Labor Code of the Philippines specifies two types of holidays: the "regular holiday" and the "special non-working day". There is a difference in the pay that employers are required to pay between the two type of holidays. There is also a difference in what is closed and in how the days are declared.

On top of these pay rules, an employee shall be given an additional 30% if the holiday falls on his or her rest day, and an additional 30% if he or she works overtime.

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